Lambda the Ultimate

The New York Time says Data Analysts Captivated by Power of R.

R is ... the name of a popular programming language used by a growing number of data analysts inside corporations and academia. It is becoming their lingua franca partly because data mining has entered a golden age, whether being used to set ad prices, find new drugs more quickly or fine-tune financial models. Companies as diverse as Google, Pfizer, Merck, Bank of America, the InterContinental Hotels Group and Shell use it.

Hmmm, "fine tune financial models". Does R stand for Recession?

More seriously, does data mining plus multi-core machines add up to an important language direction for the next few years? How well does R fare on such boxen?

More on R previously on LtU here and here.

The paper of the subject title might be of interest.
A cursory search on "blame" didn't reveal any prior posting.